Back in July of 2018, The #7 steam locomotive took the passenger train to McLeans Mill National Historic Site. When the engineer and fireman returned to the locomotive after a lunch break, they noticed the boiler was empty. Water was leaking out the bottom of the locomotive and it turns out, Three boiler tubes had ruptured. While engineers worked on stabilizing the locomotive so nothing worse would happen, the engineer and fireman brought up the Alco RS-3 Diesel locomotive. Since then, the #7 has been parked in the roundhouse and received a full boiler re-tube.
What is a boiler re-tube?
A boiler re-tube is when all the tubes in the locomotives boiler are pulled out and replaced. Not only do all the tubes have to be replaced but as well as both tube sheets that hold the tubes in place and the stay bolt caps that are for releasing pressure in an emergency. This is a big job as it involves working in a confined space and on big pieces of the locomotive. This job was taken on by a group of both working and retired boilermakers. The boilermakers are volunteers, just like most of the APR crew and have donated thousands of hours to this project.
What's happening right now?
Currently, with COVID safety measures in place, the #7 is undergoing the re-assembly phase of the boiler re-tube.
